Wolvesmouth: The hottest underground non- “restaurant” of LA

If you’re following Michelin, Zagat, Relais & Chateaux, Yelp, etc., you’ll never find or hear about the hottest seat in Los Angeles. It’s more difficult to land a seat here than even a spot at El Bulli, Club 33, Noma, Momofuku Ko, minibar, Table 21, and well, any Michelin 3 Star restaurant out there.

What am I talking about? Wolvesmouth—a hidden, secret, underground non-“restaurant” with no number to RSVP and that offers only 8 seats roughly twice a month, with a menu that never repeats. Wolvesmouth is all the buzz among the hardcore tweeting LA foodies, and if you’re lucky enough to land a seat, it will be one of THE most memorable meals and experiences you will ever have.

The process of getting a seat is a bit unconventional. I tracked down Wolvesmouth on Twitter, got on the Wolvesmouth mailing list, followed his tweets, and once the 8 seatings for the remainder of the year were announced, attempted to RSVP through the separate Twitter handle @Dimsumpup. I received a confirmation a few days later along with a set of instructions for dining at Wolvesmouth, and the day of the dinner, was disclosed the secret address only hours before at a private residence somewhere in the Hollywood hills.

Pretty much everyone at the table was a hardcore foodie—the type that compulsively takes photos of food and later blogs and tweets about it. It was a group that combined, had been to Test Kitchen for basically ever single guest chef since opening day. And we all brought bottles of wine (thanks Twitter handle @DomaineLA) to share in the one time only 12 course creation of chef Craig Thorton, a young, hip, and wildly talented chef who can out-cook a lot of the top Michelin 3 Star chefs out there.

I normally don’t get too excited about food nowadays. You get a bit jaded from eating out so much that even solid restaurants, including most Michelin 1, 2 and even 3 stars, become pretty generic and unmemorable. But with Craig Thorton’s Wolvesmouth…WOW. It’s been a few days since my Wolvesmouth dinner, but all I can think about is how great the meal was, and how much I want to go back.

Chef Thorton opened strong with an incredibly delicious creamy potato leek soup with a crunchy fried bone marrow that blew my taste buds away, and kept pounding away with dishes including: a stellar arctic char with pumpernickel, dill and crème fraiche; rare matsutake mushrooms with hazelnuts and gel; beautifully colored tomatoes with a refreshing cucumber ice; a duck sous vide with a crispy skin to outdo the best of Peking duck; lamb with sour cherry chew, pistachio and duck coffee; and a black sesame cake with asian pear and a tofu black sugar. And for the grand finale, a pretzel ice cream with a mustard meringue and stout fritter that was mind blowing.

The fact that it was only Chef Thorton alone in the kitchen cooking away made it all the more impressive, along with a small crew to help document his dishes, serve and clean. To feel his passion for his ingredients, to see him cook firsthand, and to hear him discuss his approach to each dish was something very special—it was an experience that was…beautiful. Highly recommend Wolvesmouth, as much as if not more than any Michelin 3 Star that made my Michelin 3 Star Recommendation Guide. Try your best to get a seat. You won’t be disappointed.

Photos below for now. Enjoy. Descriptions to come when I get around to it.

About 3starbackpacker

I'm just an average guy who loves to eat and travel. I backpacked to every 2007 Michelin 3 Star in the world in less than 12 months, have over 350 stars under my belt, and have eaten (and drunken) my way through over 70 countries downing anything and everything that looked vaguely interesting.